The French took on the Canadians in the quarter-finals. Well, one of the two strong teams outside of Team USA was set to be eliminated from the Paris Olympics, and while many wouldn’t have expected it, the home team emerged victorious. Now, Canada was the favorite to make the Finals and, ideally, play their arch-rivals. But then again, a Rudy Gobert-less France dominated early into the game. The first quarter really set the tone for France as they led by 13, heading into the second. By halftime, the French were leading by 16, all thanks to Guerschon Yabusele and Isaia Cordinier. But what went wrong with Team Canada?

Well, head coach, Jordi Fernandez did not hesitate to point out all the faults in their game. The Canadians struggled to shoot from distance and weren’t very generous when it came to sharing the ball. Finishing with only 13 assists (overall), 14 turnovers, and 16 points off the bench, the squad could have done a better job, and the coach doesn’t disagree. “Offensively, I thought it was our most selfish game. We didn’t share the ball.”, said Fernandez.

Yes, the Canadians could have done a better job on the offense, knowing one of the opposition’s seven-footers, Rudy Gobert, was out with an injury. Not only that, but Wemby played 27 minutes, which should’ve been Canada’s striking moment. However, Yabusele dominated in the paint, with his 22-point haul and going 6-9 from the field, while Cordinier drained triple after triple (4-5). What was supposed to be as nail-biting of a game as Serbia and Australia’s clash, didn’t pan out as expected.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 27 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. His numbers were tough to match on any given day had he received more support from his teammates. RJ Barret was the only other Canada player in double digits!

Following the loss, SGA accepted the defeat and did not blame the referees for awarding France 17 more free throws! He instead said, “For the most part, we understood the assignment. Tonight we didn’t…If you don’t earn it, that’s what happens, you lose.” It was an unexpected outburst from the home side even after their two big men took a backseat. But what’s interesting is France’s next matchup, the Semi-Finals.

Semi-Finals to get intense in the Paris Olympics, Team USA and France favorites?

France will be taking on the Germans next, whom they lost to in their last game. It was pretty clear that Dennis Schroder (26 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists) and Co. were much stronger, but then again, things will not be the same in the knockouts. While France has the home-court advantage and the crowd’s utmost support, the local fanbase’s impact was not so noticeable when compared to the quarter-final game. That is because the Preliminary round was played in Lille, while these playoff games are being held in Paris, 2 hours apart.

On the other hand, the Serbians will face Team USA, which will be their third meeting in less than a month! And we all know about LeBron James and Co.’s spotless record from their first exhibition game. However, the reigning gold medalists have their own set of troubles too, with Stephen Curry unable to get going and Steve Kerr receiving harsh criticism for declaring KD a bench player for the rest of the tournament. Anthony Edwards, the youngest of them all, has turned into a nightmare for oppositions, with his windmill dunk being ‘the highlight’ of the tournament before Evan Fournier’s Steph-Curry-esque ripper.

Would you fancy a France vs USA final in the Paris Olympics? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.